2008 Paramount Pictures"I was born under unusual circumstances." And so begins 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story, set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man's life can be. Directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett with Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas and Julia Ormond, 'Benjamin Button,' is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.
- Synopsis taken from http://www.benjaminbutton.com/
I enjoyed The curious case of Benjamin Button. The fantasy film is about the life of Benjamin Button, being born an old man, leads his life growing younger. The takeaway, "You never know what's coming for you". In other words, be postitive, you might think you are going to die soon (in his case) but lead a long and fulfilling life. The movie was pretty touching, especially the love scenes with his childhood sweetheart. It didn't help I was with a all male group. Haha. Knapp's Relational Development Model of coming together also can be seen in his relationships/affairs.
Benjamin button was born old. Although he had the mindset of a young boy, he could not run about or play with other children. He meets a young girl named Daisy in the old folks home where he lives. With child-like faith, she believes it is possible for him to grow biologically younger. It is amazing how the director is able to keep the movie so realistic despite the riduculous idea. How would you feel if you had to lead your life the opposite way? I think it would be hard, enduring the final years of your life without tasting the first innocence.
At the age of 17, still looking like a grandfather, he leaves his family to look for work.*(That is what they do during those times).
Daisy pursues her career in ballet.
They then meet again after a long period of seperation. Having lead their own lifes for so long, they find it difficult to rekindle their friendship. As circumstances would have it, they decide to start their lives together. This is when both their physical ages meet. This blissful romance between Benjamin and Daisy part will warm your heart.
As 'The Time Traveller's Wife' would have summed it, "Had we but world enough and time".
http://www.benjaminbutton.com/*Knapp's Relational Development Model (Coming together) can be seen in his affair in Russia when he found work on a tugboat.
1: Initiating (One night when he couldn't sleep, he found her reading in the lobby. They had tea)
2: Experimenting (They started to meet frequently in the night, talking over tea till day break)3: Intensifying (She confesses she wants to have an affair and states her terms. Benjamin agrees)
4: Integrating (Part of her terms was not to be seen publicly together. Their social lives never met)
5: Bonding (As all affairs go, she left a day after The pearl harbour attack. They never started a family)
Personally, i think the most important aspect of this model is the stage 2. Experimenting. Phatic communication (small talk). This will eventually lead to self-disclosure and allowing each other to see how one truely is comfortably with the other. What stage do you think you are at in your relationship/friendship now? Are you ready for the next step? Which stage would you enjoy being in the most?
hmmm i do agree with your first 4 points of the model but how does point 5: bonding go in line with the lady leaving? isn't it then contradictory?
ReplyDeleteand yes i agree with what you said abt stage 2..it's kinda like the make or break stage isn't it? it's through these small talks that we often find we can click, or not, with these new friends and acquaintances. i think stages 2 and 3 are impt and can be very exciting/joyful when 2 diff people find that they actually can click with one another :)
I do enjoy the movie.
ReplyDeleteHaving say. i do agree with your points but for point 5. Bonding is to leave? i don't quite get it.
To me. Stage 2 is the most important. It determine if the relationship who hold together or not.
What i meant was that bonding = starting a family did not happen. yea i think self-disclosure is the best part of getting to know people. although! in the long run, you might find out they are not who they seem to be during stage 2.
ReplyDeleteNice movie. But i feel that its abit too long and draggy! However the Knapp relationship model definitely can be seen from this movie!
ReplyDeleteSelf-presentation and first impression is very important in a relationship as it probably informs others of what someone is going to be like but not always 100% accurate.
Personally i did not catch the movie but will try to catch it in dvd/vcd.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading ur post, I was just pondering a point, what if Benjamin and Daisy started a family? How would it turn out to be? hmmm...
Interesting read about the model.
ReplyDeletePersonally i think stage 1 is of greater importance. Humans are incredibly impressionable beings and having no prior opinion or basis of judgment on a complete stranger, we assess people based on their looks, their dressing, their behavioural patterns - even upon interaction some of the preceding notions may remain compelling enough to supersede the newer discoveries. As everyone knows, the first impression counts, more often than people think they do.
For Benjamin to even initiate a conversation with the tea-drinking woman, who was a complete stranger then, something about her must have intrigued him, enough for him to pluck some balls and ask if she wanted tea. I'm assuming here but I don't think for a second he would have given a hoot if teadrinkingwoman was hideous. Likewise for teadrinkingwoman to reciprocate and accept his invite, something about Benjamin must have pressed a few buttons of hers. Similarly if Benjamin had looked like dogshit she would have in all likelihood not entertained him. Granted Benjamin looked old then but maybe that was exactly what she was looking for. Experience in the right places haha.
I mean let's be honest la so what if someone can hold a terrific conversation. If he/she is visually unattractive no one would speak to that person in the first place. We all need some sort of a lead-in, and our eyes usually do the job for us.
I guess the whole first impression thing paves the way for the initiating stage but there isn't a Stage 0 in the model so i'm lumping it in Stage 1.
Great movie, cheers :)